The revilatised Saints made the rest of the competition sit up and notice with a stunning four-point win over arch-rival Skipton at Skipton on Saturday night - their first victory since 2019.

Carngham-Linton was expected to be vastly improved after a high-charged recruiting campaign, but few thought it would break its losing run against the Emus, which had largely the same player group which reached the semi-finals last year.

The Saints survived a frenetic last quarter time-on period to have their noses in front when the siren sounded - 10.8 (68) to 9.10 (64).

Skipton had its chances to snatch the points with the ball deep in the attacking zone in the closing stages, but Carngham-Linton did just enough to realise a dream start to the season.

Marquee recruit Nick O'Brien was alway going to front and centre for the Saints in a game which marked his return to his home club from where he laid the foundation for an AFL career with Essendon.

For O'Brien, it was all about club and family, with the game only the second time he has played in the same team as his brothers Justin, Dean and Jarrod.

The only other time had been also with Carngham-Linton, when Nick had returned for a once-off appearance.

The Saints lost on that occasion so to win this time was something special.

Another big difference this time around is that all four are signed and sealed with the club and set to play out the season together.

The sounding of the final siren sparked a frenzy of celebrations by Carngham-Linton players, officials and supporters as the realisation of what had occurred sank in.

In the middle of it all was a calm and collected senior coach Clayton Scoble, who humbly made his way onto the ground to share the moment.

He was similarly quiet in his post-match address to his players in a packed changeroom - congratulating them on their grit and determination in a pressure-packed finish which could so easily have gone Skipton's way.